Fireplace shield



April 13,1937. w c HORNER 2,077,324

" FIREPLACE SHIELD Filed July 1, 1935 ATTO RN EY Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The invention relates to a fireplace shield and more especially to a door front for a grate or fireplace.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, wherein the fireplace is shielded when fuel within a grate is burning so as to prevent the escape of products of combustion within a room and resultant burning of rugs, furniture or other articles as contained within said room, the draft of the fireplace being readily controlled and such fireplace may be closed at night to assure safety in its use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, wherein through the arrangement of doors swingingly supported the fireplace can be opened for the benefit of the burning of fuel therein and when such doors are closed safety will be assured during the use of the fireplace.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, which is simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and efficient in its use, readily portable to permit convenient cleaning of the fireplace after the burning of fuel in the fire grate, strong, durable, neat in appearance and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which discloses the preferred embodiment of the invention and pointed out in the claim hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the fireplace showing the device constructed in accordance with the invention applied thereto, the doors being closed.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view through the fireplace.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A designates generally a portion of a fireplace having a grate space B therein as is usual for accommodating a grate, a portion thereof being indicated at 5. In this instance, the grate 5 is supporting wood logs 6 to be utilized as fuel within the fireplace.

The grate may be constructed for supporting coal and the front legs of this grate project a suitable distance over the hearth.

The removable shield or front structure constituting the present invention comprises a boxlike base 1 open at its bottom and rear or back and has a stationary top section 8 and a swinging door section 9. The box-like base I receives therein a projecting front of a grate and retains live coals or sparks from thefire, passing from the grate, entering the room in which the fireplace is erected. The door section 9 is mounted upon a hinge pintle I 0 for vertical swinging to opened or closed position. This base I is preferably made from sheet metal and from the rearmost portion thereof at its top rises a vertical frame II having arranged at its open center double doors I2, each made up of hinged sections I3, I4 and I5, respectively, the sections I3 being hinged at I6 to the frame while the sec tions I4 and I5 are hinged at I! to the sections I 3. These doors I2 can be folded upon themselves for the full opening of the fireplace when the occasion requires or the sections I5 can be opened or closed independently of the sections I3 or I4. Likewise, the sections I4 can be opened or closed independently of the sections I3 and I5. The upper smaller doors I5 close openings in the top portions of the vertical end doors I3 and by the opening of said doors a person can make observation of the condition of the fire within the fireplace.

The sections I5 when closed are held latched by a swinging member I8 while the sections I4 carry companion latch members I9, these being adapted to fasten the double doors in closed position independently of the fastening of the sections I5 thereof. The protruding of the forward legs of the grate 5 affords a comparatively wide baseto the said grate to render it steady when supporting a heavy load and adds materially to the appearance of the grate. The presence of the door 9 in the shield is to enable a person to conveniently rake back ashes or burning fuel which has a tendency to creep forwardly beneath the grate during the burning of such fuel and thus returning such spent material or the burning fuel to the fireplace space B.

The frame II is made integral with the base at I.

The shield or front is placed in confronting relation to the grate space B of the fireplace A and by regulating the doors draft for the fuel within the fireplace can be controlled and when the shield or front is closed it assures safety in the burning of the fuel within the fireplace to avoid the escape of products of combustion from said space B as will be apparent from Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawing.

What is claimed is:

A shield of the character described comprising a perpendicularly arranged frame having an open center, a forwardly projecting portion at the bottom of said frame and forming a box-like base 5 having a front, ends and top, the top being provided with a door opening, a vertically swinging door pivoted to the top for closing said top opening, horizontally swinging door sections closing the center opening in the frame and vertically pivoted together in pairs and also vertically pivoted to the frame, and doors at the upper portions of the pairs of doors for observation purposes.

WESTLEY C. HORNER. 

